In yearly Pennsylvania tradition, Amish communities hold spring auctions to support fire departments

By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press

GORDONVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Spring in southcentral Pennsylvania brings an annual tradition in Amish communities: mud sales. The country auctions in Lancaster County began in the 1960s. These days some get thousands of bidders and can do more than a million dollars in sales. The auctions benefit local fire departments. Amish people make and donate much of the food and items for sale. Large Amish families and the cost of farmland in booming Lancaster have put pressure on the traditional lives they prefer. But they appear determined to remain amid their half-million neighbors in the county.